Wesley Snipes Plots MLK-Hoover Exposé; But He Still Wants To Do Another 'Blade'

EXCLUSIVE: Despite facing a 3-year jail stretch after a long battle with the IRS, Wesley Snipes has become the catalyst for a feature that explores FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover’s campaign to discredit Martin Luther King Jr. — and the fatal guilt carried by the Hoover henchman charged with wiretapping King’s phone and pulling dirty tricks. Snipes also tells me that he is producing and hopes to play a role in the Justin Stamm-scripted Code Name Zorro, one of several projects Snipes is percolating under his Maandi Media Productions banner. Snipes wouldn’t go into a lot of detail into his current IRS situation, other than to say “It’s all good, put it like that.” But the actor, who recently brightened up the ensemble of Brooklyn’s Finest but had to be replaced in Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna because he couldn’t leave the country, is itching to get busy again.

He has been using that energy to get a sit down with King’s son, Martin Luther King III, and Snipes said he came away with a family endorsement for a film that asks hard questions about how King was treated by Hoover’s FBI because the civil rights leader was seen as a threat. Snipes fell in love with the script and is producing with 4 Reel Entertainment’s Diana Stamm, Ed Elbert and Tony Oppedisano. “I’ve got a lot on my plate right now, and this is an important project that has my focus,” Snipes told me. “Acting is my main lane, and I’m planning to expand that, taking the success of films like Blade and marinating that into something that flourishes.”

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I agree with everything you said, if Sylvester Stallone can still do action movies, Wesley Snipes can...

eli

4 years

blade was never a popular comic book character, most people didnt know about blade until the movie...

PJ

4 years

Wesley, the reason nobody's talking to you about Blade is that you were a total asshole to...

So, how about another turn as the iconic Marvel Comics vampire hunter? “Maybe we get around to doing another Blade, except, from what I’m reading, every other actor is talking about playing him, and nobody is talking to Wesley,” he said. “How strange that they don’t come and talk to me about it.”

Code Name Zorro takes an interesting approach into the life of MLK. It’s focus is the final moments in the life of former assistant FBI director William Sullivan, who headed Code Name Zorro, Hoover’s covert program designed to subvert King’s influence over the civil rights movement by tarnishing his reputation. Sullivan was charged with wiretapping King’s phones, and orchestrating such dirty tricks as giving King’s wife audiotapes of the civil rights leader’s conversations with other women. While he was enmeshed in the assignment, Sullivan was gung-ho. After MLK’s famous “I have a dream” speech during the March on D.C., Sullivan wrote to Hoover: “We must mark [King] now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this nation.” He added that it “may be unrealistic to limit ourselves as we have been doing to legalistic proofs or definitely conclusive evidence that would stand up in testimony in court or before Congressional Committees.”

The script takes the position that Sullivan’s conscience about such outrageous behavior caught up to him, and that he felt conflicted about his actions because he admired King’s efforts, but never spoke up before the assassination. He then bared Hoover and the bureau’s dirty laundry to journalist friend Jack Taylor for a book Sullivan hoped would expose his boss as a hypocrite and a tyrant. Right after telling his story, Sullivan was shot and killed — it was called a “hunting accident” — shortly before testifying about the killings of King and John F. Kennedy before the House Select Committee on assassinations. A sanitized version of the book eventually appeared. Snipes will produce with 4 Reel Entertainment’s Diana Stamm, Ed Elbert and Tony Oppedisano, with Dan Meachum exec producing.

Snipes said he shared a lawyer with King’s son, and will tie the picture into the Atlanta-based King Center For Nonviolence. Snipes will help find a director and actors to create a package that will be shopped for financing. It has become a crowded market for movies about both King and Hoover. Lee Daniels has been circling Selma, a drama about Dr. King’s civil rights march; HBO is turning Taylor Branch’s MLK book series into a 7-hour miniseries with Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions, and DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg have Ronald Harwood writing an MLK film being done with his estate. On the Hoover front, Clint Eastwood will direct a film that has Leonardo DiCaprio set to play Hoover. While Snipes has had his own troubles with a federal agency, that didn’t draw him to the tale of MLK’s collision with another branch of government.

“It’s not so much the persecution angle,” he told me. “I was attracted to the whistleblower dynamic. It’s a challenging situation for a man to be in, to be among the shadowy and most powerful men in the world, who exposed information to mislead the public. What an interesting conflict and life dilemma. It makes for good drama and there are great roles for actors to play these historical figures who are part of a whole story that many of us weren’t aware of.”

22 Comments

sounds like an interesting way to tell a new story about King and the civil rights era; hope the book is legit ’cause I’m buying into it already

Too Bad • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

I am the biggest Snipes cheerleader ever but he let too much time go by to go back to Blade. Plus he burnt his bridges with the producers. Given the failure of the Blade TV series starring the awful Sticky Fingaz, and creator David Goyer moving on to write Superman, I think it’s time to put the franchise to bed altogether. This MLK thing is the kind of mature stuff Snipes should be doing now. His action days are over.

SethJ88 • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

Agree with everything you said, EXCEPT that his action days are not necessarily over — but he should try and see about a more mature type of action star – see Harrison Ford in “The Fugitive” or “Air Force One”. But yeah, Blade needs to be left in the past.

I’m cautiously optimistic about this. MLK is a delicate topic. No one ever directly addresses the betrayal in his inner-circle in film, which were many. I suspect at least half of his circle were informants for the FBI. The man was surrounded by snakes, some who have gone on to stellar personal and political heights invoking his name every step of the way. Here’s a man who had to know what awaited him and proceeded nonetheless. If anyone ever has the balls to tell the whole story, flaws and all, I think the public will have a greater appreciation for a man, though not perfect, who made the ultimate sacrifice for the collective. Simply put, the embodiment of greatness.

PK • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

Wesley should figure out that his manager also reps that “other actor” who wants to play Blade.

‘I wouldn’t mind having a crack at bringing Blade back, personally’ He says with a wry smile, echoed with a laugh from his manager.

They’re laughing at you Wesley.

Trey • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

A Blade film would be BIG business now, comic community knows that it’s the father of the modern day comic book film & would be open to a sequel WITH Snipes. If Stallone can pull off Rocky & Expendables, Snipes can pull off Blade.

DESHAWN LIL DRAGON • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

I agree with everything you said, if Sylvester Stallone can still do action movies, Wesley Snipes can do another BLADE; I also think Michael Jai White could play BLADE, but no one can play that character like Wesley! And it would be REALLY COOL & AWESOME if they would star in it together and make the movie in IMAX 3D!! TRUE BLADE FANS should get together & promote the movie into getting MADE! ^_^

Ron Mexico • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

I knew the Blade franchise was over when they tried to make a Ryan Reynolds / Jessica Biel spinoff. Part 3 was neither fun or exciting. Guess who wrote and directed that one. Goyer can’t be the ONLY person that can write a superhero script. They could always remake Blade. Geez how many Batman/Spiderman/Superman reboots/remakes will there be in my lifetime and I’m 33. Two things Blade has going for it: 1) A black superhero 2) Vampires that don’t glitter in sunlight.

Wes is the best. Convincing as a fighter, a skilled, interesting, non-blustering actor, plus every complaint he had about Blade 3 was right on target. Another proper Blade with Snipes and Snipes only would be great. Let him take out a Pattinson lookalike in a credits sequence, please.
An MLK movie that exposes the ‘emotional plague’-ridden, invasive tactics of that creep Hoover’s FBI is EXTREMELY relevant. GO SNIPES!

dane • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

Blade started the whole success of the Marvel Super-Hero movies. Blade was the first to succeed and it’s success opened up the doors to all the other Marvel movies!!!!

Remember your history everyone: Studio executives where so stupid and clueless before Blade 1 came out that they didn’t want to green light any super-hero movie. Well, they green lit some every few years, but they weren’t popular comic book characters. The studio execs would green light boring and unknown/none-Marvel characters like the Rocketeer (ouch, I still have nightmares about that cheesy movie and the character)

Then after the success of Blade part 1 the first X-Men films and then Spider-Man where green lit.

Wesley needs to keep his mouth shut and not trash the director like he trashed Del Toro for being fat. Blade 2 and 1 were awesome. Blade 3 was a disaster. I would love to see Snipes back as Blade since Blade is indeed the coolest super-hero on the big screen. Goyer made a good movie recently, but her really took a crap on Blade when he did directed part 3.

curious1 • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

I do agree that Blade 1 was fantastic – the opening still holds up to this day
and that it kicked off the current super hero era that we are in now.

But, how is it that you get to call studio execs “stupid and clueless” but
Snipes “needs to keep his mouth shut” Hmmm …?

Prit • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

Snipes should play Blade in the final Twilight installment. I’d be first in line to see it.

Uncle Bernie • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

That kind of movie will have few paying customers.

Kabbe • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

Make the fucking 4th BLADE with Wesley. He might be a pain in the ass on set sometimes but the man has screen presence for sure.

Dnice808 • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

I actually think that having Snipes cameoed into the Last Twilight installment would be a great lead off to another Blade movie as it would put him back on the map and to a new demographic that may have missed the original Blade movies. I am a fan of Snipes the same as I am any celebrity that appreciates their career.

bounder • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

You know why I saw “Brooklyn’s Finest?” Because Snipes was in the trailer. It looked like just one more “Training Day” retread, but putting him in there like it was rounding out a trilogy with “King of New York” and “New Jack City” got my ass in the seat.

Your Name • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

Wesley Snipes is Blade. End of story.

Anonymous • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

Wow PK, that’s observant, hahaha. Wonder if he put that together too…

Matt • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

What happened to the Black Panther comic book movie he was working on? If he wants to make a big come back that’s the project he should pursue. Not some MLK drama that will probably go straight to video.

PJ • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

Wesley, the reason nobody’s talking to you about Blade is that you were a total asshole to everyone on the set of Blade: Trinity. Nobody has any interest in working with you on another one.

Here’s an idea. Next time you headline a movie, try acting like a professional.

eli • on Oct 20, 2010 3:34 pm

blade was never a popular comic book character, most people didnt know about blade until the movie came out, i beleive that the filmakers and snipes took and unknown character and made it cool, snipes performance of blade is what built a cult following, i beleive anykind of remake or sequel with someone else playing blade just doesnt work well enough to be well received by a fan base that will always remember wesley snipes for playing blade.